Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Sic transit gloria mundi ("Worldly things are fleeting") announces the enigmatic work of Josie Morway. Part photo realism and part homage to Old World Masters, her narratives feature animals in all their innate nobility with Latin phrases such as "Fortune joined with bravery in undisguised, uncorrupted faith," "He who guards, doesn't sleep," "I follow higher things," and "No herb grows in the gardens against the power of death." This combination makes me think of familiars, totems, spirit animals, and magic.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Gene Wilder, actor, writer, director, died today at the age of 83. He will forever be Willy Wonka in our hearts...he delivered a multi-layered, touching, and hilarious character in the 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" based on the Roald Dahl book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Watch him embody the wisdom, sly playfulness, love, gentleness, and even sorrow of Roald Dahl's enigmatic character in this most beautiful, touching clip. The song is "Pure Imagination" by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.

As an interior designer, I often find white walls a missed opportunity for color. But in this masterful exercise in restraint, Burnham Design in Los Angeles uses white to invoke the whitewashed walls of the Mediterranean while mixing in materials and styles of Spain, Morocco, and Asia to form a beautiful and relaxing pan-ethnic statement.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

BBC Culture asked 177 film critics and historians for their input on a list of The 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century. And the results are actually quite fulfilling. When one looks at what has been created on film since the year 2000 (which, yes, BBC Culture admits is not technically the start of the 21st century), it's rather astounding to see that we are living in perhaps a new Golden Age of cinema. We have seen the rebirth of the auteur, and just take a gander at the list to refresh yourself with the many, many exquisite films that have been made in the last fifteeen years. Or make your acquaintance with several if you have not seen them.

I am absolutely THRILLED to see Terrence Malick's transcendent film "The Tree of Life" at #7 (previously here). I'm also extremely pleased to see on the list Charlie Kaufman's existential masterpiece "Synecdoche, New York (previously here), Wes Anderson's delightful and touching "The Royal Tenenbaums" (previously here), and the amazing, dreamy "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (previously here).

But of course I did not foresee David Lynch's pristine yet enigmatic "Mulholland Drive" (previously here) at the #1 spot!!!

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

De Lux (multi-instrumentalists Sean Guerin and Isaac Franco) sing a giddy, compelling tune called "Living In An Open Place" that should have been my Summer Song this year! Oh well, a few weeks of summer are left, it's not too late to pop this on in the car and roar down the PCH...I love its electronic/disco/retro New Wave vibe and "perpetual motion" sound!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

“Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you - sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever.”
--Lauren Oliver, from her novel PANDEMONIUM

Monday, August 22, 2016

Today is the birthday of unique singer-songwriter Tori Amos and to celebrate, here are some videos of a few of her songs that have haunted me over the years: "Spark," "Winter," and "Silent All These Years."

About Me

About "Oh, By The Way"

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.

Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft) and I will be happy to provide a link.

I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain ME. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.

All-time Favorite Films

2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)

Amelie

American Beauty (Alan Ball)

Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)

Belle et Bete (Cocteau)

Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)

Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)

Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)

Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)

Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)

Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)

Easy Rider

Edward II (Derek Jarman)

Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)

Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)

Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)

Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)

Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)

Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)